The invention concerns a coolant and/or lubricant transport device comprising a pump, which can be driven by a drive, for supplying lubricant or circulating cooling water in combustion engines.
In combustion engines, the lubricant supply pump is usually a toothed wheel pump integrated in the oilpan. The water pump is mounted to the outside of the engine block. Each pump is driven by a chain or a V-belt, powered by the internal combustion engine. Both pumps are therefore permanently connected to the combustion engine and are thereby continuously driven during operation of the internal combustion engine to consume a corresponding amount of energy.
It is therefore the underlying purpose of the invention to effect lubrication and/or circulation of cooling water in internal combustion engines using less energy.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that the drive is an electric motor, wherein a detection element generates a control quantity in the internal combustion engine with the electric motor being regulated in dependence upon the control quantity via a controller.
Pumps of this type can therefore, in dependence on the control quantity, be temporarily stopped or operated to work with appropriately reduced performance sufficient to guarantee predetermined operation parameters, such as cooling water temperature or a minimum oil throughput. This directed regulation has the substantial advantage that coolant and/or lubricant is circulated only when required. This prolongs the useful lifetime of the coolant and/or lubricant and also increases the actual efficiency of the internal combustion engine, since the pumps are operated only when required. The service life of the pumps themselves is also increased. Moreover, the pumps can be operated at high or increased rotational speeds possibly required for cooling purposes even with slowly running internal combustion engines. With conventional devices, a minimum amount of coolant and/or lubricant must be supplied even during idle operation of the internal combustion engine. This is conventionally achieved through use of a correspondingly large pump. However, excessive amounts are then supplied when the combustion engine runs at high speeds. The coolant and/or lubricant transport device in accordance with the invention therefore facilitates use of smaller pumps.